Last February, Fumie's friend Ma-chan (at left, above) came to Kyoto for the wedding reception of one of her coworkers. The wedding itself was held in the Heian Shrine, and likely limited to only the most immediate family -- it's the reception later on that Ma-chan and other friends would attend.

So, while her friend was at the private ceremony, Ma-chan walked around the public areas of the shrine with Fumie and Anthony, with me and my still-new D200 trailing behind. I posted this picture of the lanterns that evening, but it wasn't until today, 10 months [...]

Yesterday, Fumie and I went to an event at the Heian Shrine where they had live viola/guitar music while you could stroll around looking at their cherry blossoms, all lit up by hundreds of flood lights. I didn't have my camera with me, but most of the tens of thousands of others who were there did. It was very crowded, unfortunately, just this side of oppressively so. (At about $15 per person, it wouldn't surprise me if they grossed at least half a million dollars just this weekend alone.)

It was beautiful. I'd been inside the shrine's huge [...]

It's a lackluster cherry-blossom season this year in that for whatever reason, the trees are not blossoming all at once but each at their own pace. Looking out the living-room window, for example, I see one tree that has been in full bloom for almost a week and the one right next to it just barely starting.

Yet, similar to the popular bumper-sticker adage "a bad day at golf is better than a good day at work", it's still a pretty darn lovely week. This morning I needed something from the convenience store, and when I stepped out [...]

I seem to be way behind on my photo processing, and today it got worse when an FFF (friend of a friend of Fumie) got married at the Heian Shrine, which is conveniently quite near where I live.

A traditional Japanese wedding is attended by only the very closest of family; it's the reception that's the big celebration attended by throngs of guests, so it's for that the FF (friend-of-Fumie) came to Kyoto.

We could, however, visit the public grounds of the shrine and witness the newly-married couple leaving the area by rickshaw for the reception venue [...]

I don't think anyone would call it the "blizzard of '05" but the other day Kyoto certainly did get more snow than normal. It tended to come in heavily, and then be bright and crisp, and repeat. Here are two shots I happened to take an hour and a half apart, of the main gate of the Heian Shrine, as seen from my veranda: